There are more than 20,000 wells in th e DJ-Basin and surrounding areas and 3,200 permits for open pits in
Weld County, according to state data.
A review of the pit permits, however, found a significant number are old permits that may not be operating — most were to hold produced water that contains salts and metals from wells.
Major operators in the basin said they were able to shut all the wells hit by the flood.